The Gospel -Matthew 16:13-20
Homily by the Rev. Dr. David Smith
There are two questions Jesus asks his disciples. One is easy and one is hard.
Question #1..."Who do people say that I am?" That's the easy one. All they had to do was report what they had heard. "You're a great prophet", "You're John the Baptist returned"...speculation was rampant and the disciples were willing to speak of it freely.
Maybe Jesus sat there patiently and listened. Maybe he let them go on about who had heard what and who had said what, and who had told what to whom. Maybe they even laughed about it a bit...how some had even said he was a demon.... big belly laughs...and Maybe even Jesus laughed along with them. The laughter died a bit, followed by one of those moments of calm in conversation, and then Jesus surprised them all.
Question #2 is the difficult one; the question that made them squirm a bit, had the disciples responding like we do when asked to pray...looking out the window, shuffling feet, coughing uncontrollably...They weren't prepared for it. "Who do you say that I am?" Only Peter was ready to say what was on his mind. One out of twelve, 8% was willing to speak, 8% was ready to say, “You are the Christ of God."
Today the question is ours, and no less difficult, or less important to answer. It is the primary question all people who hear about Jesus must answer. We cannot be Christian people without answering this question. We can act like a Christian person, and we can admire Christian people, but to be Christian we have to answer the question, "Who do you say that I am?"
There are three possible answers to the question, and with each possible answer there are corresponding responses. The first possible answer is, "I don't care."
For someone to give this answer tells us a great deal. For these folks, life is shallow. What is important is what can be seen, felt, tasted, heard, and owned. There is nothing beyond personal satisfaction and personal acquisition. The thought of investigating the spiritual side of life is as bizarre as exploring Jupiter. "I don't care, I don't want to be bothered, what's in it for me?"
The misfortune of such a response is two fold...one is the black and white emptiness of life here and now, and second is the enduring emptiness of life beyond here.
The second possible answer to Jesus question "Who do you say that I am?" is "I'm not sure."
Unlike "I don't care", "I'm not sure", is more positive and we find ourselves in good company. Remember the story about the father who brought his possessed son to Jesus. The boy would fall to the ground and froth at the mouth, grind his teeth and become rigid. The father said he had asked the disciples to cast out the demon but they couldn't and then the father said, "but if you can do anything have pity on us and help us."
In this moment, the father was saying, "I've heard about you, but I'm not sure." Jesus responded, "If you can...all things are possible to him who believes." And the father cried out, "I believe, help my unbelief." I believe, but I'm not sure.
And one of St. Augustine's most quotable quotes was, "Faith seeks understanding."
"I'm not sure" is a legitimate answer to the question. However, I'm not sure must be coupled with a diligent search to find out. The father with the possessed son didn't sit at home and say, “I'm not sure”. He came to Jesus face to face, and there was given some answers.
If we are not sure, it is our responsibility to investigate, to confront, to ask questions, to listen, to talk with other people, to learn, to educate ourselves. “I'm not sure” cannot be window dressing for "I don't care." The heart and intentions of the inquirer are far different from those of the apathetic.
Finally, there is Peter’s answer, “You are the Christ of God.”
Now, unlike when people solve the puzzle on Wheel of Fortune, after Peter's response, there was no applause, no music, no sirens, no congratulations, and no money to pocket. In fact, Jesus did not come close to mentioning forgiveness of sins and eternal life as factors in his being able to make that profession.
Instead, Jesus immediately launched into what we can expect if we choose to answer the way Peter did. It's as if Jesus is saying, "Are you sure you want to say that?"..."Do you know what you are getting yourself into?"....”This better not be some knee jerk reaction of an impulsive sycophant...because there is a price to pay.”
"If any man would come after me, let him deny himself."
Self-denial is the pariah of an age founded on instant gratification, and the biggest battle we have to face as 20th century Christian people.
Self-denial means more than "let's make a few sacrifices.” Self-denial as Jesus has in mind is a demand for a dramatic reorientation of life, with ourselves no longer the center.
Abraham Bininger, a Swiss boy came with his parents to this country on the same ship as John Wesley. The father and mother became ill, died, and were buried at sea. With the help of Wesley, the boy survived, and when he had grown to manhood, he asked to be sent to preach to the slaves on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, then controlled by the Danish government.
When he arrived on the island, he learned that it was against the law for any person but a slave to preach to the slaves. Shortly after this, the governor of the island received a letter signed Abraham Bininger, in which the writer begged to become a slave for the rest of his life, promising to serve faithfully, provided he could give his leisure time to preaching to his fellow slaves.
The governor sent the letter to the king of Denmark who was so moved by it that he sent an edict empowering Bininger to preach where he chose; to black, white, slave or free.
That’s a dramatic reorientation of life.
The second price to pay when we answer the question as Peter answered it is "Take up your cross daily and follow me."
When Matthew wrote this story, he actually had martyrdom in mind. He wanted people to know that saying Jesus was the Christ of God could be a death sentence. Not to deny the difficulty of sacrificing one's life, but perhaps it is harder to die daily than simply to die ultimately.
Noble as the martyr's heroic sacrifice is, does it require as much as the steady and lonely sacrifice of self over long years? Take up your cross daily and follow me.
"For whoever would save his life will loose it and whoever will loose his life for my sake will save it."
One of the privileges of being a clergyman is sitting with people while they die. It is a rare view into the true character of a person. There are no more defenses; there are no more games. There's no more hiding. It's one on one...human being with God.
I've learned a great deal from people staring at death. First, people would rather die having a sense of meaning than to go on living without it. People who are strong in their faith and certain of God's presence are much happier when coming to their end than those who have neither.
There are 2 ways to kill people: 1) rob them of life, and 2) rob them of life's meaning. And there are two ways to enslave people: 1) give them masters, and 2) take away their God.
What we most need and want is not something we can own, but rather the one to whom we belong.
Self-denial, bearing our cross daily, devoting ourselves to God and doing God's will, therein lies the greatest wealth and prosperity.
"Who do you say that I am?" Dare we answer, "I don't care" and live in a spiritual vacuum fully aware that when our time comes, God may also say to us "I don't care"
If we say, "I'm not sure”, then it is our ultimately responsibility to find out.
And if we say, "You are the Christ of God", then be prepared for self-denial, and cross bearing.... loosing ourselves in order to find out who we truly are.
In the name of the father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.